![]() Then this March, he took the stage twice at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival - once at Carl Cox’s Resistance Megastructure, and again alongside trance figurehead Armin van Buuren. It also went down in history as the venue’s largest techno show ever. Last October, he sold out the Ziggo Dome - a 13,000-capacity arena generally reserved for acts like Adele, Billie Eilish, and U2 - in three hours. To put his rise into perspective, let’s talk about his record-breaking show at ADE’s 2021 instalment. ![]() It’s sort of a surprise, because it’s her first time at Tomorrowland, and that’s super special.” Even this heart-touching act is remarkably on-brand for the multifaceted musician, who always aims to achieve the unexpected.Ĭlearly, Zonneveld has come a long way since his time as the reigning king of The Netherland’s unauthorised party scene, where even without the support of major labels he amassed an impressive fan-base, who gladly skirted the law for their chance to see a master at work. “And the flight back with the other guys, it’s too late for that. “Tomorrow, I close Awakenings Festival on one of the main stages, but afterwards we fly with some artists to Monegros Festival in the desert of Spain and then on the way back, actually my girlfriend, she’s also a DJ, is playing for the first time at Tomorrowland a bit earlier in the day, and I don’t want to miss that,” he explains nonchalantly, rolling off the details of his itinerary like it’s hardly unusual. He leaves to make a quick call and returns minutes later with an update. Flight interruptions are more likely to put a snag in the show schedule - he’s dealing with last-minute travel hiccups toward the start of our Friday-morning interview, for instance. In this present era of his career, Zonneveld doesn’t need to worry so much about the authorities halting his flow. This was surely no easy feat with some “30 kilos worth” of expensive tech in tow, but after years of playing the underground circuit he became skilled at plotting quick escapes. First we threw the equipment and then took off behind it.” “We actually jumped over this little and the police didn’t want to jump, they didn’t want to get wet,” he explains looking off, his crystal blue eyes squinting at the corners as he chuckles. One close-call stands out in his mind, though. ![]() Then you’d have to leave right at that moment, or they’d take your stuff.” Did he ever have to surrender his laptop, synthesisers, or pedals? “No, of course not. “It’s funny, you could be at some legit, super nice rave somewhere, and then five minutes into your set, the police would come and shut it down. ![]() “You would never have any idea if you would actually make it to play yourself,” he tells DJ Mag, thinking back to the days when gigs were left purely to chance. Flash back to a decade or so ago, and all he could do was hope that the illegal party would rage on long enough to reach his set time. Nowadays, when the Dutch producer arrives at an event, it’s because he’s guaranteed hours on stage, during which he’ll build a live performance unlike any other he’ll unleash again. It’s been a while since Reinier Zonneveld had to outsmart the cops.
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